


Annie's Past

by Kelticmoon



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Disownment, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gen, Inquisitor & Dorian Pavus Friendship, Inquisitor's backstory, Parental Vivienne (Dragon Age), Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22351399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelticmoon/pseuds/Kelticmoon
Summary: When Annie Trevelyan's phylactery goes missing, it forces her to remain at Skyhold until they can figure out how to track it down. However, everything turns upside down with the arrival of four individuals; A mage from the Circle in Fereldan and Annie's parents she hasn't seen since she was taken to the Circle.
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Female Inquisitor & Vivienne, Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Female Mage Inquisitor & Cullen Rutherford, Female mage inquisitor & Vivienne
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfiction about Annie’s backstory. It takes place after Halamshiral and Annie and Cullen’s sex scene. Annie has a lot of insecurities, all of which are a direct result of the two major events in her past that will be mentioned here.

“There is a matter that has been brought to my attention, Your Worship,” Josephine tells her.

"Go on."

“The Captain of the Ostwick city guard has informed me that the former Circle at Ostwick was broken into last night."

"The odd part is that while it’s clear someone broke in, nothing appears to have been stolen,” Leliana concludes.

There’s a few moments of silence before a thought occurs to Annie that makes her blood run cold.

“Maybe not in plain sight…”

All of her Advisors give her a curious look.

“Inquisitor?” Leliana asked her.

Annie points to the Antivan diplomat.

“Josephine, please ask the Guard Captain to look again; this time in the phylactery chamber."

Cullen catches on immediately.

“Your phylactery! It’s still at the tower in Ostwick, isn’t it?!”

“Not anymore if I’m right…”

“If the Red Templars have your phylactery, they could use it to track you down out in the field,” Leliana remarks in alarm.

“It can also be used to weaken my magic and keep me from defending myself during an attack.”

“If your phylactery has been compromised, I highly recommend you remain at Skyhold until it’s found,” Josephine suggests.

“I second the recommendation,” Cullen adds immediately.

“Don’t worry, I’ve no plans on leaving until it’s found,” Annie assures them.

“In the meantime, we should inform the rest of the Inner Circle,” Leliana states. “They should know what’s going on.”

The next day, Josephine receives confirmation that Annie’s phylactery is indeed missing.

For the next 5 days, Annie spends them wandering around Skyhold; entertaining nobles and various other guests to the fortress.

All is calm until a guest arrives at Skyhold.

Annie is out on the stairs leading to the keep giving the final orders on the new Infirmary in the upper courtyard when she hears a commotion down by the gates. She looks over and sees a large crowd gathering around a single woman standing by the gates.

She hurries down for a better look.

The woman is clearly of Rivaini descent with the trademark dark skin and beautiful curly black hair that she has pulled back in a ponytail. She’s stout and muscular, but still beautiful. She wears a dark red sleeveless tunic over black trousers with black boots.

Then Annie sees what caused the commotion. Apparently Cullen knows her pretty well because Cullen is talking rapidly to her with an enormous grin on his face.

Annie feels an ugly feeling in her chest that she quickly shakes away before clearing her throat to get their attention.

The woman strolls up to Annie with a confident smile.

“You must be the Inquisitor. Battle Mage Aura Amell.”

She salutes Annie.

“Thought I’d offer my services as an Agent of the Inquisition.”

Annie responds politely.

“A pleasure to meet you. You and Commander Cullen know each other I presume?”

“Oh we go way back! I was a mage at the Circle tower in Fereldan before the Blight. Back when he was a wittle bright eyed templar fresh out of training.”

Aura teases as he ruffles his hair.

Cullen blushes and gets really flustered and there’s that ugly feeling again.

Annie’s rescued by Josephine and Cassandra.

“Welcome to Skyhold then. I’m sure you and Cullen have much catching up to do. Right this way.”

“Thank you, Ambassador.”

Aura quickly follows her.

Cassandra barks at the crowd gathered.

“As you were!”

Everyone quickly returned to what they were doing previously.

Cullen awkwardly scratches the back of his neck and heads back up the stairs to his office, leaving Annie alone in the gateway knowing who the guest is but still unable to shake the ugly feeling in her chest.

It isn’t until she talks to Leliana that she has some kind of explanation.

“Aura was one of the few mages who survived Uldred’s madness. In fact, I remember seeing her with the group we rescued from Uldred when I was with the Hero of Fereldan. She’s also a veteran of the Fifth Blight. She actually fought alongside us on the top of Fort Drakon fighting the Archdemon when the Warden Queen slayed it.”

“Impressive,” Annie admits honestly. “Cullen mentioned an Amell once. Said she was his first crush but they never became more than good friends. They lost touch when he went to Kirkwall.”

“After the Blight she was officially named a court battle mage by King Alistair and Queen Phoebe. She helped the circle in Fereldan rebuild for a time but was then transferred to the White Spire. She was promoted to Senior Enchanter which remained her title until the Circles fell. In fact, now that I mention it; I believe she was protecting the other mages as they escaped the White Spire.”

Somehow, knowing all this didn’t help ease the ugly feeling in Annie’s chest; in fact it made the feeling worse.

Over the past few days whenever Cullen isn’t working, he’s with Aura.

The two are frequently seen walking the ramparts or in the tavern catching up. Aura frequently flirts with him, which causes him to get flustered and blush. To his credit, Cullen never flirts back but then he never tells Aura to stop either.

“Darling, jealousy is not becoming on you.”

Annie leans against the doorway of Vivienne's balcony and watches Cullen and Aura train recruits together while Vivienne sits at her vanity.

“I wouldn’t call it jealousy. At least, not entirely anyway. I trust Cullen. It isn’t really about him either. Did you know there are nobles that think our relationship is just a fling in a time of crisis that will end once he finds something better?”

“Pay no mind to that worthless drivel you heard at the Winter Palace, my dear. What could Cullen possibly find that’s better than you?”

“Well, look at her."

Annie indicates the battle mage down in the courtyard.

“She’s beautiful, bold, outgoing, and courageous. She’s a powerful battle mage who has so many achievements on the battlefield and isn’t afraid to fight. Meanwhile, I’m a coward who spends most of the fights we get into running away….”

“It’s not a crime to not have an aptitude for fighting, My Dear and you’ve come a long way since I first started teaching you offensive magic.”

“I’m not pretty…” Annie mutters finally.

Vivienne looks at her in mild indignation at the statement.

“Says who, my dear?”

Annie's eyes start to sting.

“Everyone at court… My eyes are too gray, my hair changes color depending on the lighting, I have too many freckles, my nose is too long, I’m too pale, too short, and the list goes on. I’m nothing special outside of being the Herald…”

Vivienne gently lifts Annie’s chin to look at her.

“Darling, you are fluent in five languages including Tevene and Rivaini and are currently attempting to learn Qunlat from Ironbull. You created a potting soil at 19 that keeps plants from growing too large for their pot, you created a plant food that keeps potted plants healthier, you discovered that allowing bats to roost inside the Circle tower keeps moths from destroying the tomes and scrolls and provides an endless supply of fertilizer for growing plants, and you are an alchemist of no small talent who developed all manner of balms and tonics that treat common ailments such as, but not limited to, migraines, varying severities of menstrual cramps, and alcohol withdrawal. You were even in the process discovering a treatment for an ailment you discovered when the Circles fell. That’s not even mentioning your talent for needlecrafts and gardening. You give yourself too little credit. Cullen chose you for a reason, and it’s not simply because you’re the Herald of Andraste.”

Annie sniffles as Vivienne sits her down in front of her vanity and wipes her face.

“There now. Modesty is not a bad thing, darling, but it shouldn’t affect how you view yourself.”

A sudden commotion draws their attention inside the throne room.

When Annie looks down, she feels her heart stop in her chest as she sees the three people Josephine’s speaking to.

“My dear, are you alright? You’re as white as the snow outside.”

Annie shakes her head rapidly as she backs away and practically runs through the door into the library.

Vivienne follows her in time to see her sprinting out the door on the floor below to the catwalk leading to Cullen’s office. Vivienne catches Dorian’s eye as he too saw the Inquisitor’s flight before they both walk down the stairs and into the throne room to look at the new guests.

They’re clearly nobility. The woman is average height with blue eyes and her graying blonde hair held up in a braided bun, the gentleman is tall and graying as well with green eyes, and between them stood a pair of teenagers, a tall young girl of no more than 16 with beautiful golden blonde hair and green eyes and a younger boy of about 12 with brown hair and blue eyes; clearly their daughter and son. Their traveling clothes were of fine make, the gentleman’s doublet bore the seal of Ostwick, and the woman wore a mask marking her as Orlesian.

Josephine spots the two mage's approaching.

“Ah, Madame Vivienne, Lord Pavus! Allow me to introduce Bann Frederick Trevelyan, his wife Lady Colette, and their son and daughter Bertrand and Jeanette.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Vivienne answers politely with a graceful curtsy which Dorian mirrored with a small bow of his own.

“It is an honor to meet the both of you,” Bann Trevelyan responds.

“We are eager to see our daughter again after so long. I have been so worried about her.”

His wife has a thick Orlesian accent Vivienne notes.

“Sadly, I’m afraid she’s busy at the moment,” Dorian responds with cold politeness.

Josephine immediately picked up on Dorian's tone and gives him a meaningful look.

“Perhaps a tour of the fortress before I show you your rooms?"

“That would be wonderful. Come along my dears. We’ll see Anastasia Elise later,” Bann Trevelyan says.

“Why don’t we start with the gardens?”

Josephine leads them through to the door leading out to the gardens.

Dorian walks calmly back to the door to the rotunda.

“That explains why she fled…”

Vivienne falls in step beside him.

“Any idea what happened between them to make her flee in utter terror at the sight of them?” 

She and Dorian may not agree on much, but they both care deeply for Annie (a fact that could also be said for every member of the Inner Circle really).

“Apart from the fact that they named her **_Anastasia Elise_** , you mean? I know only that they haven’t spoken since she was a teenager and the last time they did was not pleasant.”

They stop in the rotunda.

“Any ideas on where she might have fled to? She’ll want to run somewhere she feels safe and her quarters are out of the question. Perhaps Cullen’s office?”

“And risk her parents seeing her when Josephine takes them to visit the Commander’s office? No, our Annie’s smarter than that. She’s going to go to the one place a nobleman’s family of their stature wouldn’t be caught dead in. A place that happens to be in that direction.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blackwall and Annie have kindof a father/daughter relationship.

Blackwall is walking through the stables when he hears soft weeping coming the stall that held the Inquisitor’s horse. The chestnut stallion kept nickering and nuzzling something in the back corner of his stall. When Blackwall looks in, he sees Annie in the corner hugging her knees to her chest and rocking herself.

She looks like she’s either recovering from or on the verge of a panic attack.

“Easy lass…”

The moment Blackwall opens the stall door a bit, her horse snorts protectively at him.

“Good job, Archibald. You kept her safe,” Blackwall tells the horse dryly.

The stallion snorts again and makes room for Blackwall to move closer to Annie.

“Easy lass… It’s going to be alright…”

He sits beside her in the stall, close enough that she knows he’s there, but gives her enough space so she doesn’t feel smothered. When he places a hand on her shoulder and she instantly turns into it and wraps her arms around his midsection, bursting into tears.

“It’s alright. On your time lass…”

After a while she calms down.

“My parents are in the fortress…”

“Didn’t you say you aren’t on speaking terms with them?”

“I’m not… I mean I wasn’t… I haven’t heard from them since I was a teenager. I wrote to them for years before that… but they never wrote back… except once when I was 16… when they told me to stop writing to them…”

“So they told you to stop talking to them 11 years ago, a request you’ve honored, and all of a sudden they drop in out of the sky expecting to pick up where they left off? Noble bastards.”

“I don’t know what to do. I wish I could talk to Cullen but he’s busy training soldiers with his friend.”

“Well you’re welcome to stay here until nightfall if you wish. A noble wouldn't be caught dead in a horse stable. Then you can make a break for your quarters then.”

“Unfortunately, I really am supposed to be checking on the status of the Infirmary soon I can avoid them if I keep to the courtyard and the ramparts I think. I know the keep and its hiding places better than they do. Besides, I’ve already been here for a few hours. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’re back in their rooms now.”

Annie stands and brushes the hay off herself.

“I can go with you if you’d like."

“Thank you but I should be fine. I’ll see you later.”

Blackwall frowns as he watches her sprint cautiously across the courtyard to the narrow staircase closest to the medic tents before heading for the tavern. He needs to speak with Sera and Ironbull immediately.

Annie’s plan works perfectly at first.

She successfully meets with the builders of the Infirmary without seeing her parents and learns the Infirmary is on schedule to be completed in two days).

She then takes uses the fortress walls to get to the garden. As she's walking along the edge of the garden, she spots her parents and siblings.

In a panic, she ducks into the door beside her and hides until they walk past.

“Hiding from your adoring fans?”

Annie jumps and turns to see Aura Amell lounging calmly on the bed in the room with her hands behind her neck.

“Sort of…”

Figures she’d hide in Aura’s guestroom.

“Stay then. Take a load off! Any girl who can somehow bed Ser Workaholic is ok in my book!”

Annie blushes.

“I didn’t realize Cullen told you about our relationship.”

“Are you kidding? You’re all he’s been talking about. I’ve been meaning to thank you for that anyway.”

Annie sits next to her on the bed.

“For what, exactly."

“For everything you’ve done for Cullen. Poor guy wasn’t exactly what you’d call ok the last time I saw him. It’s good to see him happy again.”

“I’m only glad I could help him. His withdrawals can be so bad at times and his nightmares are so terrible. I only wish I could help him more.”

“Just keep being you, hun. Believe me, he loves you as you are.”

Annie shifts awkwardly.

“Cullen told me a little about you; though I admit I’ve read about you as well. You were friends with that mage that poisoned Arl Eamon, right? The one who destroyed his phylactery?”

“We were friends yes, but I didn’t help Jowan break into the phylactery chamber. He dragged our pal Surana into his mess; the elf always loved breaking the rules. I did too, but not if it involved blood magic. Also Jowan knew better than to tell me. I could always tell when he was lying.”

“I must admit I felt a little threatened by your sudden appearance here. Especially when Cullen started spending all his time with you.”

Aura looks at her suddenly.

“Don’t tell me he told you about the crush he had on me…”

When Annie nods, she swears.

“I didn’t realize I was monopolizing his time. Honest. My flirting with him probably didn’t help either.”

“I believe you and to be honest, it was foolish to feel threatened because of it. I trust Cullen.”

“Of course you do Sweetie, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be scared to lose him. Look if it helps you feel better, he never had a chance with me to begin with. You on the other hand…”

Annie blinks.

“Really?”

“Completely serious. I prefer the company of other women. I have since I was a teenager."

“Then why do you flirt with him so much?”

Aura grins at her.

“Have you seen how flustered he gets when you flirt with him?” 

Annie giggles.

"He IS rather bashful when it comes to flirting, isn’t he?”

“Completely!”

The two girls laugh over it.

They sit and talk for a few more hours until Annie looks outside and sees its suddenly dark out.

“When did it get so dark?! What time is it?”

Aura looks at the sky as they step outside.

“I’m thinking about an hour or two after sundown."

“I should probably try to sneak back to my room now that the throne room is likely clear of guests."

“Good luck.”

Annie heads toward the throne room. When she’s out of sight, Aura turns and walks the other way.

~

Annie peaks inside the door leading into the throne room. It was thankfully empty given the late hour.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she heads to the door leading to her tower.

She stops in her tracks when she sees a shadow standing on the dais in front of the throne. It’s definitely male with a warrior’s build.

Annie gasps when she realizes it’s a templar hunter and tries to run for it, but three more shadows appear behind her, both also male and templar hunters.

Annie goes to call for help when suddenly, she feels like all her energy is being drained from her, making her too breathless to yell or even speak. She knows that feeling anywhere.

Her phylactery.

Helpless, she feels two of the Templars behind her grab her arms and drag her through the door to Josephine’s office and down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varric's nickname for Annie is Mouse

Cullen is sitting in his office finishing up some paperwork when Aura kicks his door open.

“You! You need to spend some time with your girlfriend. Like now!”

Cullen isn't even phased by her kicking his door open.

“I spend quite a bit of time with her,” Cullen tells Aura without looking up from his work.

Aura takes the quill from his hand.

"Hey!"

“Oh really? When was the last time you spent time with her in the three days since I arrived here, hmm?”

Cullen thinks hard for a few moments before sighing.

“I cannot recall at present.”

“That’s because you’ve been spending all your spare time with me. Do you want to know how I know? Because your girlfriend just told me so!”

“Shit! I had not realized I had been ignoring her.”

Cullen stands up.

“Do you know where she is?”

“She said she was going back to her quarters. If you really want to be a dear, you could bring her something to eat. It might have been the lighting but that girl looks like she’s missed a few meals.”

Cullen frowns.

“She probably has. She often forgets to eat when she’s busy or stressed.”

He heads to the door leading to the stairs down to the lower courtyard.

“I think I’ll go to the kitchens as well. I could use a snack myself.”

They walk in comfortable silence across the courtyard and up the stairs into the kitchens.

As they step into the kitchen, Cullen stops dead in his tracks when he hears Annie’s voice coming through the door on the opposite side of the room. Then he hears a male voice yelling followed by the sound of someone being hit. His soldier training kicks in as he quietly approached the door and opened it.

He rounds the corner and freezes as he sees four figures, all wearing tunics with the templar symbol on it, standing threateningly over a fifth person, who was pinned against the wall. His heart constricts when he realizes the one against the wall is Annie, and she’s bleeding and crying, but for some reason, isn’t fighting back.

Then he realizes she can’t.

There’s a muted pink glow around her that’s holding her rigid, indicating her magic is being suppressed.

“You took everything from us, you worthless bitch!” 

“Why?! What did I ever do to you to make you treat me like this?!”

“You exist! You exist and you’re a mistake! You should have been killed the moment they knew you were a mage.”

He pulls back his sword. 

“Get away from her!”

The four of them turn in surprise as Cullen walks toward them.The three in back separate from their leader and attack Cullen. They're met with a barrage of fireballs from Aura.

Their leader parries Cullen’s attack with his sword, which Cullen counters by shoving him away from Annie and standing between them.

“Cullen, they have my phylactery!!”

Cullen looks at the four Templars and notes their leader is holding the vial of blood tightly in his hand. The vial and his hand are glowing the same color as Annie. All four templars are giving off the glow of red lyrium.

The leader and two of the other templars attack Cullen together while the last one goes after Aura. Aura starts throwing stone fists and fireballs at him while Cullen fends off his three attackers.

Several bolts suddenly fly through the air from the base of the stairs beside them, hitting the two other templars in the chest while Aura quickly encases the fourth templar in ice before shattering him with a stone fist.

The only templar remaining was their leader.

The man takes a swing at Cullen with his sword, which Cullen parries.

Cullen quickly sizes up the other man.

He has a large build similar to Cullen’s with hair the color of straw. The man had clearly been a skilled templar at one point.

The two are locked hilt to hilt when the other man speaks.

“Samson told me I’d probably run into you if I attacked the Inquisitor in her own fortress. Told him if you knew what she did to us, you wouldn’t be defending her for long.”

Cullen grits his teeth as he disengages.

“By all means, enlighten me."

The other man attacks Cullen again.

“We were templars at the circle tower in Ostwick. That is until she got us expelled from the order and a Seeker executed. And all because this worthless bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

Cullen growls as he parries the other man’s attacks.

“Stop calling her that!”

“You play the fierce protector well, Commander. I hear you’ve gotten pretty close. She’s not much of a looker, but I can see the appeal. I was planning to have my way with her myself before she got me expelled from the order. In fact we were planning to take turns…”

Cullen sees red and dodges the attacks.

This man is responsible for the night terrors Annie suffers from **_TO THIS DAY_**.

Without hesitation, Cullen drives his sword straight through the other man’s torso, cutting him off mid-sentence.

He’s so livid he’s shaking.

“You will NEVER hurt her again…”

Cullen pulls his sword from the man’s body he falls to the floor and begins to bleeds out.

Varric retracts his crossbow’s arms and swings Bianca onto his back.

“I was just walking through the door of the throne room when I heard you shout. Got down here as quickly as I could.”

Varric then walks over to the templar and kicks the phylactery out of his hand, breaking its hold on Annie.

Cullen drops his sword with a clatter as he runs to her side, barely catching her as she slumps to the ground.

Cullen repositions her so he can look her over quickly. Her face is bruised and bleeding from where the templar struck her. It looked like her ankle is broken and she’s quickly developing a black eye but otherwise she seems unharmed.

Physically anyway.

Sobbing, Annie throws her arms around Cullen’s neck and clings to him, a gesture he returns as he holds her tight; willing his rage to subside. She starts to ramble hysterically about what happened. All he could make out was she was ambushed.

Aura then walks up and casts a sleeping spell on Annie, causing her to go limp in Cullen’s arms.

“Sorry Cullen. I figured the poor girl could use the rest.”

Cullen calmly picks Annie up bridal style to the stairs.

“Could one of you get a healer please?”

“On it."

When they reach the throne room, Aura sprints off to the mage tower.

“Today has just not been Mouse’s day,” Varric states. “I’ll alert the others, Curly. You get her to bed. She’s been through enough today.”


	4. Chapter 4

Cullen lets out a weary sigh and buries his head in his hands as he leans against the wall of the battlement. For once, working is the farthest thing from his mind.

Not long after Cullen laid Annie down in her bed, Annie’s quarters were swarming with healers including Vivienne and Dorian. Varric had been good on his word and let the others in the Inquisition know about the attack. Once she was taken care of, Cullen and Aura told everyone what happened (this was also the first he’d heard that Annie’s parents were in the fortress). Cassandra had gone downstairs to handle the cleanup and Leliana and Josephine started to investigate the things the templar said. Cullen should have been helping with the investigation, but he was too worried about Annie to be of much use.

The night is cool, clear, and dark with a gentle breeze blowing. He had gone to his office first, but when he couldn’t focus; decided to walk out on the battlements closest to the stables.

“Thought I’d find you out here.”

Cullen doesn't need to look up to know its Aura.

“How are you holding up?”

Cullen grunts in response.

“You should get some rest."

“I can rest when this is all over."

“Commander!”

Cassandra is walking through the door of his office toward them with a file in her hands.

“I have something you may wish to look at.”

Her tone tells him it isn’t pleasant.

He straightens up.

“Well?”

“There is truth to what the templar claimed. Apparently there was an incident many years ago with the Inquisitor involving a seeker and four templars. It was discovered by the Revered Mother at the tower that the templars had stolen the Inquisitor’s phylactery and were using it to torture her. When the seeker discovered what was happening, rather than put an end to the foolishness, he had joined in and used his abilities to abuse her further. When the truth became known, the Seeker was executed while the templars were all expelled from the order. It is all described here.”

Cullen holds his hand out.

“Let me see."

Cassandra hesitates.

“I should warn you Cullen; whomever wrote the report included thorough descriptions of her injuries as well as a drawing among other details.”

“Let me see it."

Cassandra hands him the folder and he reads through it.

As he reads, he feels his stomach churn and his heart constrict at the things they did to her.

She was tortured, beaten, and repeatedly denied food for days at a time. Eventually it escalated to the point where the Revered Mother had to talk her out of an attempt on her own life (though it isn’t specific). Through talking her down, the mother learned of the abuse and told the First Enchanter and the Knight Commander who then made the abuse stop by punishing her abusers and removing her phylactery from their possession.

“She never told me…”

“This explains why she was so painfully submissive to us at first and why she flinches if someone so much as scratches their head or raises their voice in her presence,” Cassandra states thoughtfully.

Just then a realization hit Cullen so hard he staggers backward.

Aura steadies him.

“Cullen?”

“Annie has scars… Physical scars that riddled her upper back and shoulders…”

Normally, they’re covered by her clothes, but Cullen has seen them every time they've been intimate. He's asked about them and she always hesitated before telling him they were "just old scars". He hadn’t pressed her because she looked uncomfortable about it.

Looking at the drawings of where her injuries were and how bad they were, he has a hunch that they would line up perfectly.

“All this time… All this time…I’ve been telling her about what happened to me in the Fereldan circle… and she’s never once let on...”

“I doubt it’s because she doesn’t trust you if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Cullen and Cassandra look at the Battlemage as she continues.

“From the one conversation I’ve had with her mixed with everything you’ve told me, Annie’s the kind of person who puts other people’s needs before her own, almost to an unhealthy degree. You were the one that was hurting. You were the one who needed a shoulder. So she kept the focus on you.”

A soldier burst came in just then.

“Commander Cullen! Seeker Cassandra! The Inquisitor is missing!”

“What?!” Cullen and Cassandra say in unison.

“We found a note in her quarters.”

He hands them a piece of paper.

It’s short and in Annie’s handwriting which calms Cullen’s nerves somewhat.

_“Went riding. Be back soon. --A”_

“Her horse is missing as well."

Cassandra thanks the soldier and dismisses them.

“At least she left a note,” Aura states.

“I don’t understand. The door to her quarters is in the throne room and she has a recently healed broken ankle. How could she get to the stables without being seen?” Cullen asks.

“I helped.”

The three of them turn and see Cole crouching there on the wall as though he’d always been there.

“You helped her get past the guards unseen?! Why?” Cullen asks him.

“’Confused. Scared. Too much. Everything’s too much! Need air. Need space. Need to think. Need to be me. To get away! Not for long, just until I can breathe again. Just need to breathe…’”

“Not surprised she needs to clear her head after this mess,” Aura points out to Cullen.

Without another word, Cullen walks toward the stairs down to the stable.

Cassandra follows him.

“Cullen, you will never find her at this hour!”

“I know where she’s going!” Cullen shouts back.

They reach the stables.

“She may wish to be alone. She has been through a great deal today.”

Cullen pulls a horse from its stall.

“She’s been alone since she was 16 Cassandra, possibly since she was 8. Those templars made that painfully clear tonight.”

Cullen grabs a saddle and puts it on the horse.

“She’s helped me through the worst of my lyrium withdrawals. She’s held me when I’ve had my nightmares. She’s listened to me with a non-judgmental ear as I’ve talked about Kinloch Hold and Meredith. I couldn’t truly call myself her lover if I weren’t willing to do the same.”

Cullen quickly mounts the horse and rides toward the gates of Skyhold.


End file.
